Paul Thorn & Patrick Sweany @ the Rams Head Onstage

Last night we attended the best concert of the year. Hands down. Paul Thorn with Patrick Sweany opening. Actually the night opened awkwardly as Sweany broke a string the very first song. But after a brief delay he showed why he is a rising star. His soulful vocals reflect a combination of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and his guitar playing - pretty awesome. Expect a new CD from Sweany early next year. Can't wait.

Usually when an artist is pimping a new CD, you have to bear through the new songs to get to the older songs which made you follow the artist in the first place. That is what I was expecting for Thorn's Pimps & Preachers. Not this time. Yea, he played some old ones like Long Way from Tupelo and Burn Down The Trailer Park and Where Was I?; but his new songs were better than these classics. And as expected, the songs were laced with humor and morality lessons - particularly the lessons that make you think. For instance - "The more I learn they less I know" from I Hope I'm Doing This Right or the entire You Might Be Wrong, which brings up the interesting contradiction that with the diversity of religious thought - someone is wrong. And that coming from the son of a Pentecostal preacher. That also explains the title track - on one shoulder his father; on the other, his uncle - a pimp.He played practically the entire CD, Tequila Is Good For The Heart, Love Scar, Better Days Ahead and the hilarious I Don't Like Half The Folks I Love. The only disappointment is when the show ended - and it ended with classic Thorn as he walked off stage into the concert hall to personally thank fans for attending. Fortunately he's coming back to town next month, this time playing at the The Birchmere and then in October at the The 8X10 in Baltimore. I'm purchasing my ticket now.